First Impression II: At Second Glance

Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Somethingness of Nothing

Chapter Twenty-Eight — The Somethingness of Nothing

Needless to say, I was promptly kicked out of the library (after the librarian had removed the fifth edition of Thornwell: A History from me).

"I can't believe it's the second week of school and you're already in the library," Angelina said. "No wonder you got a scholarship."

I patted the letter safely ensconced in my inner pocket nervously. "I wasn't studying. Just looking through some stuff," I said. "Anyway, were you looking for me?"

"Yes, yes, I'm going stationery shopping today but nobody's interested in fountain pens. But then I thought of you!" She smiled at me brightly.

"Ummm, I'm not that interested in calligraphy," I hedged, fingering the envelope in my pocket. "And I know nothing about fountain pens."

"Pretty please?" Angelina looked at me with her large doe eyes. "Please? We can get dinner afterwards. My treat."

I nodded reluctantly and then immediately excused myself to the toilet. Once tucked up in a private cubicle, I took out the letter, my hand shaking and my heartbeat still beating faster than normal from earlier.

It was empty.

Huh?

It couldn't be. This was definitely addressed to Elizabeth Jenkins. There had to be something inside. She had come all the way to Thornwell to get it — Realisation dawned on me. She had come here and retrieved whatever was in the letter, leaving behind only the envelope. And the school brochure.

I fished out the brochure and looked it over. It was a generic brochure of Thornwell with a school map. I stared at it dejectedly. There goes my only lead. And I was so close. I sighed and stuffed it into my bag as Angelina called out for me.

"Coming!" I flushed the toilet and then went out.

***

Angelina brought me to this fancy boutique shop selling customisable moleskin journals and fountain pens that probably cost several months worth of pay at my waitressing job. I followed her around as she browsed, chattering on as she always did.

"My grandparents on my dad's side owned a store that sold these kinds of things, you know," she told me after a lengthy debate on the pros and cons of flexible and non-flexible nibs. "Both sides of my family are really into fountain pens and calligraphy. That's how my parents met actually. At an antique shop selling old fountain pens. Such nerds, aren't they? By the way, do you think the blue pen looks nicer or the green one?"

"Blue I think," I replied.

"Yeah, I think so too," Angelina said. "Actually, my parents first met at Thornwell," Angelina continued. "They knew each other but weren't close until they met again years later. Cool right?"

At this, I stopped. I didn't know Elizabeth Jenkins went to Thornwell too.

"Both your parents were at Thornwell?"

"Yup." Angelina nodded. "So I grew up hearing tons of stories about Thornwell. Did you know that there are apparently quite a few secret corridors in the main building?"

"No way," I said, my mind was spinning. Both of them went to Thornwell. Was that why they were so attached to the place? Richard Jenkins left Elizabeth Jenkins a code in the Thornwell: A History which led to a letter in the same book in the Thornwell library. But why had he left the letter in the book in the school library instead of their own copy?

"...the main building used to be the mansion of the Thornwell family so my dad says there are a few secret corridors left from those days..."

Why make her go all the way to the school for a letter? To keep the letter safe from prying eyes? That didn't quite make sense. There were other ways to keep the letter safe. Why specifically Thornwell? The school wasn't particularly close to their old home.